Discrete optical elements that form an optical assembly need to be positioned precisely with respect to each other. Currently, to achieve precise positioning of the optical elements and thus the required assembly performance, time-consuming active adjustment procedures are employed. During such procedures, light beams propagating through the optical elements can be used for alignment. Optical performance parameters can be measured and used as feedback for adjusting the positioning of the optical elements. After such active adjustment procedures, optical elements can then be fixed in place.
Additionally, multi-element optical components such as microlens arrays can exhibit significant element-to-element variations, adversely affecting overall assembly performance. In other words, the non-perfect uniformity of optical elements, as well as optical distortion normally present in manufactured optical elements, may introduce errors in the alignment.
It would be advantageous to eliminate the need for active alignments and extract the performance gains obtained from reduced element-to-element variations. The present disclosure describes optical elements, fabrication and assembly methods to attain these advantages.